Five Wild Mushrooms of Economic Value Found on Belitung Island

Image: article cover, from Ivan (2020), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from the Mycology Division of the Department of Biology at Bogor Agricultural University has recorded five types of wild mushrooms consumed and traded by communities on Belitung Island, Bangka Belitung Province. The five mushrooms are kulat pelandok (Amanita sect. caesarea), kulat pelawan (Heimioporus sp.), kulat tiong (Hygrocybe cf. conica), kulat sukatan (Phylloporus sp.) and kulat sawit (Volvariella sp.). The research was carried out in 2018–2019 and published in the Journal Wasian.

These mushrooms are more than just a supplementary food. Local people sell them, making them an important seasonal commodity for household income. According to the study, kulat pelawan commands the highest selling price of all the mushrooms. This finding indicates that this mushroom has strong potential to be developed for cultivation. Three of the five mushrooms live in symbiosis with trees: kulat pelandok with puspa (Schima wallichii) and kulat pelawan with pelawan (Tristaniopsis merguensis). Meanwhile, the host tree of kulat sukatan is not yet known with certainty.

The study therefore emphasises the importance of protecting these host trees. If the trees disappear, the economically valuable mushrooms will also be threatened. For forest-edge communities in Belitung, protecting puspa and pelawan means protecting their seasonal source of income.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article The Potency of Some Wild Edible Mushrooms with Economic Value in Belitong Island, The Province of Bangka Belitung by Ivan Permana Putra Ivan, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 7 No. 2 (2020). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Ivan, I. P. P. (2020). The Potency of Some Wild Edible Mushrooms with Economic Value in Belitong Island, The Province of Bangka Belitung. Jurnal Wasian, 7(2), 121–135. https://doi.org/10.62142/bj56zg91

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.